This invention relates to a printing apparatus, a method of controlling the same, an information processor connected thereto, a method of controlling the information processor, and a related storage medium.
Printers of the kind that discharge liquid ink include those that allow a cartridge of one type (an ink tank or a unit that is a combination of an ink tank and printing head) to be exchanged for another, after which printing is performed in conformity with the particular type of ink cartridge. Examples of such ink cartridges are monochromatic ink cartridges, color ink cartridges and, in some cases, low-density ink cartridges. (Low-density ink cartridges are suitable for forming grayscale images by performing a plurality of printing cycles.)
A variety of printing processing types (printing modes) are available. For example, there are printing modes in which printing is completed by a single pass or by a plurality of passes, and in which printing is performed by moving a carriage in one direction or back and forth in two directions.
Thus, the printing processing that is executed depends not only upon the type of ink cartridge but also upon the combination of cartridge type and printing mode.
According to the prior art, a printer capable of performing printing in a number of printing modes has a memory in which a program for each type of printing processing is stored in advance, and printing is executed by switching among the programs in appropriate fashion. However, a problem with such a printer is higher cost because of the need for a large-capacity memory to store the programs.
Further, since the programs are stored permanently in a ROM or the like, printing processing suited to a new type of ink cartridge cannot be executed.